Living In America
by PotterizeMe
Summary: The War may be over, but the fight is still going on. The wizarding world wouldn't just snap back to where it was before Voldemort rose to power again- it wasn't a rubber band. It would take time, and Hermione didn't have any. Still being hunted as a muggle-born, she flees to America to live as a muggle. But how long before her past catches up to her?
Do I know you?

Prologue-June 25, 1998

With shaking hands, Hermione stuffed the last of her things into her beaded bag and turned to look around the room she had come to know so well in the last 7 years of summers at the Burrow. She was filled with a deep sadness at the thought of leaving it, and another wave of sorrow crashed over her as she realized it very well may be the last time she was ever here.

She quietly tiptoed past Ginny's sleeping form, gazing at the room around her one last time before silently leaving, praying the shutting door wouldn't wake her friend. She didn't want Ginny to wake, see Hermione's note and try to stop her before she even left the Burrow. She quietly walked down the stairs, hoping no one would hear her. She was banking on everyone being deep in sleep, as it was already well past midnight.

A small part of her wished someone would still be up and would try to stop her departure. Another part of her knew that wish was foolish, as it would only complicate things further. There would already be enough of an upset tomorrow once they discovered her absence and the note. But this was the best option for her now.

She was an idiot to think that the prejudice against muggleborns would go away immediately after Voldemort's demise, and the cursed scar on her arm was further incentive to leave the country as soon as possible. Even though the witch who gave her the scar was dead and gone, there were still many of Voldemort's followers that were out to get her, and even still were those Ministry members who wished her to be locked up in Azkaban. She still had a warrant out for her arrest, after all. No, this was the best option. Seeking refuge in America to live as a muggle was the best choice for herself and her loved ones.

She spun around the Burrow's kitchen one last time, committing everything to memory before walking out the back door. She would have to walk out quite a distance to be past the wards they still had in place before she could apparate to Diagon Alley. Reaching the apparition point, she felt the familiar squeezing of apparition and moments later appeared in the deserted street, the twins shop visible even in the early morning light, the bright exterior drawing her like a moth to a flame. She shook her head and continued down the alley, grinning as she remembered the looks on the goblin's faces when she went in the day before to empty her vault and exchange it to muggle money.

Hermione entered the back garden of the Leaky Cauldron, keeping her head down as she rushed through the building and entered into Muggle London. Charing Cross Road was clear, save a few people here and there. She looked around before spotting the underground entrance and waking over to it. She bought a single fare ticket with the muggle money she had and got on, headed to London Airport.

She debated for a while over how to get to America and eventually decided that using the ministry for a portkey was too dangerous at this time, and it would be much easier to fly over. She applied for a student visa when she realized she could no longer stay in England as a witch, and with a few phone calls and some money exchanging hands, she was set. The whole process only took a month, and Hermione wanted to get there early to settle in to her apartment and begin studying; school started in August, so she had all of July and August to prepare herself. She had applied to nursing schools and was accepted to almost all of them, but ended up choosing Duke as it was not in a major city and was only 20 minutes away from her muggle cousin, who studied at UNC.

Sometime later, Hermione boarded her plane to Charlotte. She watched the sky get lighter as the plane taxied on the runway. Her thoughts drifted to the Burrow. It was nearing 6 am now, and Mrs. Weasley would be rising soon. She dreaded to think of how Harry and Ron would react when they woke to her gone. Hermione tried not to focus on that, and instead reached into her bag for her worn copy of _Pride and Prejudice._ She soon got lost in the novel and drifted off into the world Jane Austen wrote.

When the stewardesses came around at noon to give her a tray of lunch, she began to get nervous about living in America. She had heard a lot about it from Christine, her cousin, but she still felt like she was going on her first train ride to Hogwarts again; she worried about what people would say about her, if she would settle in nicely or stick out of her classes like she did at Hogwarts. She was also incredibly worried about the ministry (or worse) finding her.

She debated changing her name and changing her appearance with spells to aide in her progression, but decided against using her wand for anymore magic; the ministry could track it, and they could find her and all of her hard work would be for naught. She also decided it was a good idea to start perfecting her wandless magic, as she could not be seen using her wand around muggles and she feared for her safety if she used it as well. She would have to change her appearance the muggle way; she vowed to ask Christine to help her get an appointment to whichever salon she went to.

The prospect of changing her name wouldn't leave her mind for the rest of the flight though; it was batting around at the back of her mind, like a persistent owl trying to deliver post. Without her name, she would have a safety net. Even if they found her somehow, no one would know who Hermione Granger was. Any friends she would have made by then would know her as something else. She made a mental note to go to the library and research how to change her name.

Hermione then began to brainstorm possible names to change hers to. She didn't want anything that would make her stand out too much, and blending in was her main goal. Anne? Jean, her middle name? Emily? Sarah? Michelle? None of these names felt right to her. Hermione was her name. She liked the literary implication of it, and it felt like her name. She was proud of it, and she knew her mother took great care in deciding that as her name. She couldn't imagine another name; Hermione was part of her identity. It was the name of a bookish, puffy-haired, proud Gryffindor. This new name would have to be a part of her new identity, and any name wouldn't do. It had to have significance. She mulled it over some more before turning back to her book when the stewardess came around with customs forms and pencils.

Hermione paled. Her bag, the only bag she brought with her, was far too small to hold all of the things she had in it. She started panicking a little, already thinking the worst scenarios. Her breathing increased, along with her heartrate as she thought of someone going through her bag and discovering it held much more than it initially projected. Maybe she could use _Imperio_ on the customs agent to make sure she got through without a problem. She shook her head at that, the Ministry probably could track her all the quicker for using an Unforgiveable curse on a muggle.

The pilot announced their decent, and Hermione genuinely started to panic. What if she violated the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy? She could expose the whole wizarding world! She could go to Azkaban! How could she have been so stupid as to not think this part through?

The Charlotte Douglas International Airport came into view as they went below the low clouds, and she worried she might pass out from the adrenaline pumping through her veins. This was it. All this way for nothing. She disembarked the plane, clutched her purse in her hands as she followed the crowd around her to the customs portal.

Hermione waited her turn in line, silently praying for a miracle. She stepped up to take her turn, handing over the completed customs form and her passport. She smiled politely at the bored looking man seated behind the glass as he took he documents.

"What is the purpose of your visit?" He asked in a slow, southern drawl, with an unsurprisingly bored note in his voice.

"Oh, uh, I'm here to go to university. I have a student visa." Said Hermione in a polite voice.

The customs agent noted this, barely changing his expression. "Do you have anything to declare?" he asked.

Hermione was instantly on guard. "I'm sorry? What do you mean, 'declare?'"

He finally looked up at her. "What have you brought with you? Did you bring anything from your country that isn't allowed in the U.S.?"

"Oh! No, I haven't brought anything like that. Juts my clothes and things." She said with a relieved sort of laugh.

The agent gave her a bored look, stamped her passport and sent her on her way. As she walked away, she sighed a huge breath of relief. The worst was over. She followed the crowd around her to the exit, looking around for Christine, who said she would be waiting for her. She laughed as she spotted her tall cousin, towering over the others waiting at the arrivals section. Christine was waving her arms excitedly in the air, shouting "Hermione! Hermione! Over here!"

Hermione picked up her speed, excited to finally see her cousin again after nearly 5 years since Christine's last visit. "Christine!" She shouted as she flung herself into her cousins open arms. "It's so good to see you again. You've gotten so much taller!" Christine laughed as she hugged her younger cousin back. "I've missed you too. I have so much to tell you! But first, let's get you moved into your apartment! Is all your stuff in that cute little bag?" She asked half-joking, half-curious. Her eyes widened when Hermione subtly nodded her head.

Hermione confided her magical background in her cousin after she found out Christine went to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the North American Hogwarts. Christine graduated after Hermione's 6th year at Hogwarts, but she missed the ceremony because she was too busy planning the horcrux hunt with Harry and Ron. Evidently, Voldemort wasn't as big an issue in America as he was in Europe; Christine didn't even know about him until Hermione told her after her 4th year at Hogwarts, when it was clear that he was back for real.

"Oh. Well, let's get goin'. It takes forever to get out of here." She rolled her eyes as she looped her arm through Hermione's. "So tell me, what all's goin' on with you and that Ron guy? How does he feel about you leavin'?"

Hermione blushed and avoided her cousin's eyes. "He actually doesn't know I left. I didn't tell anyone." Christine stopped walking to look at her. "I left a note!" she tried to half defend herself.

"You didn't tell anyone before you up and left? What did the note say?"

"I didn't want to put them in any more danger than they already were in with me living with them. I told them I didn't feel safe and that I was coming here and that the best thing for them to do is to move on with their lives and work on rebuilding the wizarding world. It wasn't safe for me to say anything more than that." Hermione explained.

"Okay then." Christine paused. "Wait-what about your parents? They had to be against you moving to another country by yourself."

Hermione looked away again, this time to hide the unshed tears in her eyes. She took a deep breath and explained what she did to her parents to save their lives. By the end of the explanation, they were in Christine's car, and Hermione had tears rolling down her cheeks. Christine wrapped her in a hug and Hermione instantly relaxed, not realizing just how tense she had been. She started crying, great heaving sobs as she let her guard down for the first time in over a year. Christine rubbed her back as she murmured words of encouragement to her.

After a good, long cry, Hermione sat up, wiping her face before laughing at her reflection in the passenger mirror. Looking at how bushy her hair had become in the 15 or so minutes she had been crying, she remembered something else. "Can you make an appointment for me wherever you get your hair done? I need the works. I don't want to chance being recognized." She sniffed, brushing her curls away from her tear-stained face.

"Of course! I'm due in for a cut anyway, so why don't we make a day out of it? They got a nice spa in the back." Christine squealed, "We can get mani-pedis!" Hermione laughed again as they pulled away from the airport and began the drive to her new apartment. On the way, Hermione mentioned wanting to change her name and asked her how she should go about it. Christine nodded her understanding. "Oh well, that guy I've been seein' for a while, you remember me tellin' you about him? Jake? Well he works at the county courthouse, so I'll ask him. I know it's kind of a long process, so I'll ask him as soon as I can. What are you thinkin' about changin' it to?"

Hermione looked out the window at the passing trees and buildings and all of a sudden, she knew exactly what name to pick. "Jane."


End file.
